Facebook-funded Silicon Valley police station, with free Wi-Fi, opens

Rich Menlo Park accepts $600,000 to re-open substation in poorest part of town.

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA—On Saturday, in the presence of area dignitaries, the local police department opened up a new substation in the neighborhood of Belle Haven, just a short block down the street from Facebook’s massive corporate headquarters. This is no ordinary police station. Its renovation, rent, and one officer’s salary have been substantially paid for by Facebook, to the tune of $600,000 over the next two years.

This wealthy Silicon Valley city of 32,000 people boasts a median household income of over $113,000. Kepler’s, a well-known independent bookstore, is one of the retail anchors of its downtown corridor. So far this year, the median home sales price in Menlo Park has been $1.5 million.

Further Reading

A major corporation funding a police department—particularly in a well-to-do city like Menlo Park—seems extremely rare in the United States, if unprecedented.

“I'm not aware of one particular company funding a police department or part of it, but I'm not surprised,” Elizabeth Joh, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, told Ars. “There are many instances of lines being blurred between private and public when it comes to policing.”

She mentioned that San Francisco, about 40 miles north, has its own commercially-funded force, the San Francisco Patrol Special Police. The organization serves alongside the San Francisco Police Department since the 19th century. FedEx maintains its own sworn police force too.

Belle Haven is a triangle of territory geographically separated by Highway 101 from the rest of the city. Although it is within Menlo Park's city limits, the feel of the neighborhood is decidedly different. Crime is higher, the homes are more modest, and there are notably more Spanish-speaking businesses and families. In 2013, the city’s most violent crimes—eight shootings—all took place in Belle Haven.

As the Bay Citizen reported in 2011, “Test scores in the Ravenswood School District, shared by Belle Haven and East Palo Alto, were in the bottom 12 percent of California districts in 2010. The Menlo Park district scored in the top 3 percent in the state.”

When Facebook moved from Palo Alto to nearby Belle Haven in 2011, the company sponsored a “Design Charrette” day where architecture students met at the Facebook campus to sketch designs for how to improve the Belle Haven area. Little seems to have substantially changed in terms of urban design since then.

Come for the arrests, stay for the Wi-Fi

Menlo Park Police Chief Robert Jonsen told Ars that the prior substation serving Belle Haven was boxy, dingy, and even had bars on its windows. This new one—a converted storefront space on the corner of a strip mall—is shiny and new.

The station has been officially dubbed a “Neighborhood Service Center” and feels much more like a Silicon Valley startup office than a traditional place where cops conduct day-to-day police work. The Center will have three officers on duty 8am until 6pm, Monday through Friday.

“[The arrangement with Facebook] is unusual, but that’s where we’re headed,” Jonsen said.

“We wanted that look and feel [like Facebook’s headquarters has]—law enforcement, we don’t design well,” he said. “It turned out amazing. This is setting the standard of private-public partnerships.”

The entry area has a large lounge-style space, with a couch and coffee table. One raised counter, adjacent to a window, has iPads, inviting visitors to browse city webpages and Facebook itself. There’s free Wi-Fi and an ATM and small office of the San Mateo Credit Union—Belle Haven’s first bank branch. Next to the front door is a large bank of mounted screens showing live surveillance cameras from around the city.

Jonsen noted that the monthly rent for the new space is $3,600 per month, substantially more than the city was spending on its old substation, which closed in January 2014. For months, plans to build a new station languished, until Facebook stepped in with its offer. Still, it seems odd that a city with an annual budget of over $42 million was not willing or able to put up the money for a new substation in the city’s poorest neighborhood until Facebook came calling.

“I think there is precedent for taking money from private companies putting it to public good,” he said, comparing it to sponsored concert halls or sports stadiums, noting that the city would be on the hook for the full cost after two years.

“We had violent crime in this area,” Mueller said. “We had drive-byes. The number one priority is that when kids go to school that they have the same opportunity as kids on the other side of the freeway. Facebook came forward to us, we didn’t ask them. We’re going to save money in the long-term.”

Full force of the law

In remarks at the opening ceremony, the mayor also said that he was trying to rally public support for a new substation when John Tenanes, Facebook’s head of global real estate and security, e-mailed him out of the blue: “What kind of support do you need to make this happen?”

“This was our first start,” Tenanes told Ars after the mayor’s speech. “Right now we are engaged with Belle Haven, East Palo Alto, and Redwood City.”

When asked about the strangeness of a company like Facebook donating to a rich city like Menlo Park, Tenanes had no comment.

“We’re trying to be good neighbors,” he said.

Elizabeth Joh, the UC Davis law professor, wondered about potential conflicts of interest for Facebook employees.

“The concern in any of these arrangements is that there would be some special consideration for the sponsor's interest,” she noted.

When asked if Facebook employees—likely few, if any, of whom live in Belle Haven—would be treated differently by the Menlo Park police given the company’s financial ties to the city, Mayor Mueller brushed the notion aside.

“The law applies the same to everybody,” he said. “If a Facebook employee gets caught doing something, there will be extra attention to make sure they don’t get an extra benefit.”

As the Bay Citizen reported in 2011, “Test scores in the Ravenswood School District, shared by Belle Haven and East Palo Alto, were in the bottom 12 percent of California districts in 2010. The Menlo Park district scored in the top 3 percent in the state.”

Jokes aside, I think it is good Facebook is helping fund the betterment of their local area and provide a much needed service to an area of the city that otherwise would not have it.

Corporations shouldn't be sponsoring government facilities/employees, but as long as Facebook gets no special benefits (other than the area their employees are in becoming better, safer and potentially more valuable from the service), I'm okay with it (as in police don't take people's affiliation with Facebook into account). This is more a result of lack of funding statewide/nationwide caused by government waste of taxes and government corruption. If the government didn't overspend, taxes could be more wisely spent on public safety, education and services.

Jokes aside, I think it is good Facebook is helping fund the betterment of their local area and provide a much needed service to an area of the city that otherwise would not have it.

Corporations shouldn't be sponsoring government facilities/employees, but as long as Facebook gets no special benefits (other than the area their employees are in becoming better, safer and potentially more valuable from the service), I'm okay with it (as in police don't take people's affiliation with Facebook into account). This is more a result of lack of funding statewide/nationwide caused by government waste of taxes and government corruption. If the government didn't overspend, taxes could be more wisely spent on public safety, education and services.

And to be honest, how many people who work for Facebook (with the corresponding salaries) are involved in crime low-brow enough to end up at a local police station?

The first step in the show's plot towards the corporate congress was corporations funding local police departments. In that show the genius kid in the future (the genius old man?) sends his son (and others) back in time to stop this future from ever happening.

It's a pretty good show, 7.9 on imdb. Also it predicts Zuck's future acquisition of a time travel company.

I'm willing to assume they mean well. However, I think this still crosses the line. Even most libertarians agree policing is one of government's most important core roles, which they have to do regardless of how tight the budget is.

Corporations have to pay taxes, but beyond that they should not be "sponsoring" vital government roles and facilities. For example, the government should determine which areas of the city need new policing (it certainly seems Belle Haven did). Then, they should pay for it with some combination of taxes and construction bonds backed by taxes.

This could also set a dangerous precedent. In the future, other corporations might do this (municipalities might even demand they do it) but expect more in return.

Quote:

“The law applies the same to everybody,” he said. “If a Facebook employee gets caught doing something, there will be extra attention to make sure they don’t get an extra benefit.”

Sure, if the original crime hit the news. If the police made sure no one knew about it, there couldn't be that accountability.

Could have sworn I mentioned other than by the taxes they pay, probably deleted it when i changed funding to sponsoring. Which I agree with, but also your statement seems to lean towards 'legal' corporate tax evasion, which i also agree they shouldn't be doing and pay their fair share of taxes.

But that still leads back to government corruption (influenced by the rich/corporations) to cause these legal loopholes and waste tax dollars.

I know the neighborhood. Today I would call it rough. Thirty years ago it was hell. I never lived there (are you insane), but would drive through it at night because it was safer than driving through EPA.

I never got out of the car (again, are you insane), but I don't recall a sidewalk by Facebook HQ. It is gated off for obvious reasons.

For fear of being called a racist, I won't mention the name of the organization that would dress up in nice suits and bow ties, selling some worthless newspapers. They would come up to your car if the light changed and you were stuck in traffic. Very intimidating. I haven't seen that crap in years.

Menlo Park should just put a substation there without Facebook paying for it. It isn't like Menlo Park doesn't have the money. Even without Facebook being there, the town has plenty on money, not to mention all sorts of federal buildings that probably pay good rent. USGS is headquartered in Menlo Park on the good side of town.

And corporations help set up police stations out of what, social responsibility? Somebody at Facebook didn't think things through before doing this. It's bad enough that defence contractors have got the military by the nose, now the cops are being sponsored by the world's biggest privately-owned spying network.

A school or education center would've been much more useful and less controversial.

The complicated tax code having loopholes and deductions doesn't mean corporations aren't paying their taxes. It simply means that they aren't paying more than they have to. You know like most people who claim deductions.

I disagree. Police need to be independent. They shouldn't have any source of revenue, and potential bias, except for what the taxation department sends their way.

If this place needed a police station, why didn't local government put one there? If funding is the issue, then Facebook should have lobbied with government to push for additional funding to be made available — perhaps with a $600,000 tax bill sent to local corporations.

And thus this is an example of what is wrong with the system in the United States - why isn't the police funded by the state government - a central funding to ensure that whether you're rich or poor that all have the same level of protection in their local communities.